Two That Are One
by lovesrainscent
Summary: 50 themes for Shikaku/Yoshino. The story of their life and marriage. "Now I am going to write you a book on the art of love so that you and your wife will know the wonderful mystery of the two that are one."
1. Comfort

**Title: Two That Are One**  
**  
Author: **Lovesrainscent

**Pairing:** Shikaku/Yoshino

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or these characters. This is a work of fanfiction and I stand to make no profit from posting this story.

**Summary: **Inspired by Contessa Hime's Yin and Yang (go read it, it's beautiful) – 50 Themes for Shikaku and Yoshino. With her kind permission, I'm going to use her themes and write them for my own beloved canon couple. I'm planning to do each as a drabble, exactly 100 words. I had started this earlier then, just like Triptych:369, took it down and reworked it to be sure I could finish all 50 themes. So, now it's back and finished.

The title is from a quote by Joseph Campbell: "…_Now I am going to write you a book on the art of love so that you and your wife will know that in the wonderful mystery of the two that are one, Brahma is radiantly present also." _

**Comfort**

There are many sorts of comfort in the world and Yoshino is adept at dispensing them all.

She can tend to a child sick with fever through the night.

She can cry with the kunoichi who's just lost the love of her life in bloody battle.

And she can let the man who's had to call his own son a coward hide his tears in the crook of her neck.

Sometimes when she doesn't know he's watching he studies her and thinks he catches a glimpse of Kuan-Yin, bodhissatva of compassion, she who hears the cries of the world.


	2. Confusion

**Confusion**

_By all means marry. If you marry a good wife you will be a happy man. If you marry a bad wife you will be a philosopher. ~ Plato_

"Do I make you happy?" she asks with a teasing lilt.

Shikaku hesitates, recognizing this for the verbal bell-test that it is.

If he answers 'Yes' too quickly he will sound insincere.

'No' is absurd if he wants to continue to breathe.

He wonders if he should tell her the truth, that he is happily philosophical, or philosophically happy; that he can't imagine life without her although there are days when he never wants to see her again…

"Well," she says, arms crossed over her chest, tapping her toe gently, "you sure are taking a long time to answer."

Dammit!


	3. Fear

**Fear**

Three days.

All chuunin-candidates should be back.

Proctoring this portion of the test is troublesome.

Scanning returning faces, boredom turns to anticipation then concern then something coiled, knotted and cold inside.

For some reason his hands start to sweat.

This entire evening is _too_ troublesome.

The last team appears.

Briefly his heart's in his throat. He only sees two genin, then realizes one boy is supported by his teammates.

Yoshino smiles, showing him the matched scrolls she's holding as she helps her injured teammate along.

He grumbles 'finally' and shoves his hands into his pockets, wiping cold sweat off them.


	4. Sky

**Sky**

She was a young chuunin and he hadn't been a jounin that long. Their teams were on a joint mission and it was her first time deep into the Wind country desert.

That night she had looked up into the sky, black velvet above them and covered, literally _covered_ with a blanket of stars too thick to count.

_"Oh, Shikaku,"_ she had breathed and clutched his hand so hard that he had the feeling he was the only thing holding her back from falling into the sky.

Shikaku may look at the clouds but Yoshino likes to look at the stars.


	5. Numbness

**Numbness**

Shikaku's regaining consciousness after his mission. Opening his eyes he realizes he's in a hospital room. Chouza, Inoichi and Yoshino are gathered around his bed.

His face feels stiff. He reaches up, fingertips tracing the outlines of bandages. "Why does it feel numb?" he mumbles.

"Sheesh, Shikaku," Inoichi's voice is falsely light trying to hide their shared concern. "Sometimes I think your whole head is numb."

Shikaku tries to grin, but the bandages make it come out lopsided.

Yoshino grips the edge of the bed and wonders if he has any idea how numb she felt watching him lie there unconscious.


	6. Faith

**Faith**

" Nara , how long have we been dating?"

"Eh, six years, maybe?"

"Do you think we'll ever get married?"

"Eventually."

She nods as she sits beside him in the meadow. "That's good. Because my friends' moms were asking and I've already told them that the wedding is next May."

He cocks an eyebrow upward and looks over at her, "Really?"

"Really," she answers rising to walk back to the village. "But I still expect you to propose, you know."

Shikaku just smiles.


	7. Completion

**Completion**

He's getting married.  
_  
What _was he thinking?

He looks at Chouza, silently asking, 'Can I still back out?'

Chouza just grins.

Probably not, he muses. She'd kill him.

Yes. He was marrying a woman quite capable of killing him, one who could make him happier, sadder, angrier, more protective and more possessive than he would have ever dreamed. Plus, she made him sit up straighter at the table.

And he was promising to never let her go.

No matter what.

He sees her now and smiles.

Oh well.

You never knew how deep the water was until you jumped in.


	8. Defeat

**Defeat**

"What does this look like to you?" he asks accusingly, holding a pair of mismatched socks up to her view, one sock dangling from each hand.

She pauses and purses her lips, hands on her hips, her dark eyes flashing with anger.

"Well," she snaps in a voice that would bring the rawest genin instantly to attention, "It looks to me like a person who loves you and does your laundry for you each week made a simple mistake. Why? What does it look like to _you_?"

"That's what it looks like to me, too," he mumbles hastily in defeat.


	9. Near

**Near**

She likes to keep him near.

He's learned it's because he's away so much on missions, sometimes for weeks, even months at a time.

At first he found it troublesome, an almost clinging neediness. But then he came to understand the quiet desperation of worrying that someone you cared about _wouldn't _come back.

That revelation came shortly after _her _longest mission.

Now, he wouldn't go so far as to call it _cuddling_ after sex, but technically, _rolling over_ and going to sleep was _more_ work. He could just lie there and go to sleep with her in his arms, near.


	10. Kisses

**Kisses**

There are kisses and then there are kisses.

Some are chaste, some in passing, some linger long and sweet.

Kisses can often lead to… surprisingly vigorous activity for such a lazy shinobi.

But sometimes they don't lead to anything. Those are the kisses that are simply a pause in the day's events when there is nothing between them not even the air because the air that she breathes is the air he breathes.

And the ones where there is nothing between them, the ones that don't lead to _anything_… those are the kisses when she knows he gives her _everything._


	11. Scent

**Scent**

Shikaku doesn't need a calendar to mark the change of seasons, he can tell it by scent alone.

Winter smells like cooking – hearty hot pots like nabeyaki udo, tonjiru and oden.

It doesn't matter if flowers are blooming yet, he can tell when she switches her perfume to that light, sweet floral fragrance that it's now spring.

Summer is the time when the whole house smells scrubbed fresh and clean, breezes billow through open windows and at night there are sun-dried linens on the bed.

Likewise he knows it's autumn because Yoshino smells like warmth and vanilla and _home._


	12. Whimsy

**Whimsy  
**  
Hurrying to meet Tsume at the onsen a glint of sleek black hair catches Yoshino's eye.

She thinks she recognizes him and peeps into the men's section.

Yep. It's Hyuuga Hiashi.

She pauses to look, because… well… after all… who wouldn't?

He drapes his long, silky locks over one shoulder. Her eyes widen and she snickers as she sees the bright red scratches down his back.

Tsume!

Hyuuga's either been a very bad boy or a very good boy.

_A/N: Thanks again to Contessa-Hime for the inspiration. _


	13. Soft

**Soft**

She is a Leaf kunoichi, ruthless in her missions when necessary and lethal in numerous ways.

She has a reputation as a strict woman, strict with her students, strict with the Nara clan accounts she manages, strict with her teammates.

But he knows her gentle side and at night when she yields to him everything about her is so soft – voice, looks, hands, touch.

The mystery of it all, he knows, is that this is only because she _chooses_ to be.


	14. Sensual

**Sensual**

Golden sun spills in the window, slant of light tells the late hour of the afternoon.

Warm breeze through the open sash flutters the curtains, ushering in sounds of lazily droning cicadas and air heavy with honeysuckle.

Small hands that had gripped his shoulders tightly moments ago then rested weak against them now stir, strange arrhythmic tapping of each finger in turn.

"Yoshino? His voice is a pleasant rumble against her, his beard tickles her cheek with each word. "What are you doing?"

"Idiot", the breathy word is an endearment, "I'm trying to remember how to straighten out my fingers."


	15. Clouds

**Clouds**

He loved looking at clouds.

Sometimes there were tall cumulonimbus heaped up fluffy and white.

On pleasant days there were thin wisps of cirrus clouds high overhead scudding along like small waves.

And on warm, humid summer mornings there were banks of altocumulus covering the sky in bands. These would lift in the heat of the day combining to form storm clouds for a late afternoon thunderstorm.

Like today.

He sighed as he saw her stalking across his meadow and remembered that he was supposed to have put sweet feed out for the deer before he left.

Hurricane Yoshino approached.


	16. Hair

**Hair**

Sparks fly.

Long sweeping strokes and the black locks spill like ink over her shoulders as she brings the brush back up to start again.

It's winter.

In the dim light of the moon he can see the sparks as they dance along, crackling in the cold air.

In the day she wears it in a practical fashion, tied back, restrained.

She only wears it loose at night.

For him.


	17. Touch

**Touch **

During the long winter nights she loves it when they spoon up in bed together, his arm draped across her waist, his chin resting at the top of her head.

She can feel their bodies touch from head to toe, her back against his chest, their hips close together, legs flexed at the same angle. She straightens her feet and wiggles her toes to touch the top of his own. He shifts his arm slightly to hold her closer.

Soon his soft even breathing lets her know he's already asleep.

Yoshino smiles. He may be lazy but he certainly is warm.


	18. Life

** Life**

Tired, she sits to rest, closing her eyes.

At least most of the nausea has passed. She hasn't been sick in a few days.

She even served meat for dinner last night since she could once again cook it without throwing up at the smell.

She sighs and starts to rise. A puzzled expression crosses her face as she feels the tiniest flutter against her side.

It repeats – gentle, tiny, fluttery, sparkly movement on its own, inside of her.

Comprehension dawns. Eyes wide she claps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

He's _there._

_Whoa!_


	19. Name

**Name**

"Who would have thought it would be this difficult?" Yoshino moaned.

Shikaku smiled at his exceedingly pregnant wife who sat in the middle of the floor with a bewildering assortment of baby name guides arrayed in front of her.

She had consulted every resource imaginable from auspicious calendar events near her due date to family histories and current most-popular name rankings.

"I just didn't think it would be this hard," she sighed, brushing her bangs back out of her face.

"Just think," her husband grinned wickedly at her. "This is hard and you haven't gone into labor yet."

Yoshino hit him.


	20. Speed

** Speed**

For such a lazy ninja he certainly could move with alacrity when it was required.

Shikaku tore through the streets of Konoha with Inoichi's laughter still ringing in his ears since he'd been the one to deliver the happy news.

Upsetting a vendor's sidewalk display of fresh vegetables he hurriedly attempted to explain. Smiling the man waved him on.

He entered the medical center not sure which way to turn. A pleasant nurse directed him.

He dashed down the hall. The last thing he wanted was to miss his child's birth.

He was certain Yoshino would kill him if he did.


	21. Jealousy

**Jealousy**

He has a healthy son. As a new father he should be inordinately proud.

And he is, truly he is, don't misunderstand.

But he also can't help but be just a _little_ jealous over the fact that this small…_intruder_…seems to have stolen all his wife's attention. Not to mention claimed exclusive use of her breasts.

He peeks again at the small boy that is a mirror image of himself and smiles.

Well…maybe it's not _so _bad.


	22. Ears

**Ears **

Ever since the baby was born she seems to have preternatural hearing. Before he can even detect the slightest whimper she's up checking on their son. Sometimes he swears she's imagining it and tells her to go back to sleep, that she's dreaming. Then he'll hear the cry and realize she was right all along even as she's heading for the nursery door.

The upside to all this is that he has far less middle of the night responsibilities.

The downside to it is that he can no longer sneak in late after he's been out drinking with Inoichi and Chouza.


	23. Home

**Home**

There's a glow from a single lamp lighting a window.

It's warm and welcoming in the thick darkness.

_Downstairs _means she's probably waiting for him to come home, not walking the floor upstairs with a fussy baby.

He thinks of comfort, wrapping his arms around her.

But there are some nights when he'd rather slip into a dark house and change before she can see him, simply joining her in a dark room.

Those are the nights when he comes home with too much blood on his clothes and too much weight on his conscience.

Those are the nights like tonight.


	24. Cuddle

**Cuddle**

A whimper and he cracks one eye open to see the small form standing by his wife's side of the bed.

"I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course," she says.

The boy scampers to the middle of their bed, tiny stuffed deer in tow.

"Yoshino, he's almost four, don't you think he's too old…"

"Of course not," she replies.

Shikaku sighs and drapes his arm across the two of them.

Some battles aren't worth fighting.


	25. Innocence

**Innocence**

"Dad?"

"Hmm? What?"

"It _was_ just a monster movie, right? _Just_ a movie?"

Shikaku looked at his 7 year old son as they walked home from the theater in the early evening together and smiled. "Yeah, it was just a movie. Why? You scared?"

Young Shikamaru shrugged. "No…not really…well, okay, maybe a little."

They walked along in companionable silence, their footsteps sounding lightly on the smooth cobblestones.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Does anything scare you?"

Shikaku looked at his son and wondered how to tell the boy that the only thing that scared his father was if something were to happen to _him._


	26. Sordid

**Sordid **

The entire affair is sordid.

The whole clan? Every Uchiha …_ gone_? Except for one little boy?

The entire village is in shock, people move through the streets in almost total silence. No one even knows what to say.

Mikoto had been her friend, a jounin, a few years older than her. Her son, Sasuke was the same age as Shikamaru. They were in school together, they_ played_ together.

And this had all been done by Mikoto's older son Itachi?

Unbelievable.

She almost retches thinking of it.

What kind of hate would he have to have to kill his own parents?


	27. Worry

**Worry**

At first she was worried when Tsunade returned to Konoha.

How can she compete with a goddess?

Working with Koharu-sama she knew that Jiraiya was offered the Hokage position. Why, oh why hadn't he taken it?

She thought back over their years together and recognized the truth of the matter.

Although Tsunade may occasionally have his eyes (well, maybe more than occasionally) Yoshino knew she'd always have his heart.

After that it was easy to stop worrying.

Well, a little bit easier.


	28. Soliloquy

**Soliloquy**

"Stay safe. Did you pack enough kunai? Paper bombs? Who did you say was going on this mission with you? What do you mean Asuma-sensei won't be there? Who do I need to speak to about this? What about Ino? What? Ino's NOT going? Only Chouji? Why not? Who else did you say? Kiba Inuzuka? Okay, he's a good boy. Who else? Hyuuga? Neji? Well, okay, I suppose that will be alright. Does Tsunade-sama know that boy has some anger management issues? Maybe I should tell her. What do you think Shikaku?"

Shikamaru groaned at his mother's soliloquy.

Shikaku just smiled.

_A/N: As a mom, I just have to say that this is my favorite one :-)_


	29. Sickness

**Sickness**

"I don't _want_ to stay in bed."

"But you're sick."

"I can't _stand_ staying in bed," her voice is sniffley and petulant. "I'm going to the sofa."

With her robe wrapped around her and clutching her tissue box like precious cargo she shuffles to the sofa and flops down.

The front door bangs open and Shikamaru calls out, "Hey, mom, I'm back. What're we having for supper?" He drops his pack noisily at the doorway.

Shikaku stomps over to him and it's a nice stomp, a reassuring stomp, a just-for-her stomp. "Be quiet," he hisses threateningly. "Your mother is sick."


	30. Sex

**Sex**

They would never go to bed angry.

They would always be sure to stay up and fight.

It was something they had both found to be helpful in maintaining their relationship.

Budgets or the deer or his mission schedule or her mission schedule, or Shikamaru's education, it didn't matter. They could bicker, squabble, and argue about anything and everything.

It was exhausting, it was draining but it was important to clear the air, to maintain communication.

Besides, Yoshino was pretty cute when she was angry.

And anyway, there was nothing more conducive to a good's night sleep than make-up sex.


	31. Natural

**Natural**

Austerity was the new fashion statement.

After the near total annihilation of the village, those who could do with less were seen as doing _more_ on behalf of Konoha.

Small victory gardens were show pieces within neighborhoods once mostly ornamented by landscaping.

Shikaku thought of the_ acres _of vegetables his wife tended at home as long as they'd been married. Although their land was remote from the village center, still she had been one of the first to respond, distributing not only Nara medicinal supplies but food from their own stores as well.

Yoshino was above all else, a sensible woman.


	32. Smile

**Smile**

He loves to see her smile.

It starts with her eyes, a spark there, mischievous.

Then one corner of her mouth twitches up followed by the other.

It changes her whole demeanor. Not soft, that's reserved for special times, but brighter, cheerful. This is an ordinary day and something very ordinary has made her smile.

In the aftermath of all the destruction the village has been through it's nice to see something bright for a change.

"Why so happy?" he asks.

"Look," she says pointing up. "The cherry trees are starting to bloom."

And indeed they are. Shikaku smiles too.


	33. War

**War**

Love is war. And you should never let the enemy choose the site of the battle.

As a strategist he knows this.

But she has a sneaky habit of deciding to abruptly end an argument by suggesting sex, usually in the most unlikely of places – the kitchen, his office when there are jounin waiting just outside the door for their mission assignments, or kami help him, the Hokage's office one day when Tsunade was away and he was filling in for her.

Shikaku might be undefeated in battle but he rarely wins arguments with her. It's easier to give in.


	34. Gift

**Gift**

Valentine's Day approaches.

Konoha's females are making chocolate to give to the males in their lives -_ giri choco _given out of obligation to co-workers and_ honmei choco_ for her heart's desire.

Yoshino always gives him both…_honmei _as her husband and _giri _because technically, as jounin commander, she still reports to him.

White Day soon follows where males are expected to reciprocate.

Over the years Shikaku has learned an important lesson.

Boys give candy. Men give jewelry


	35. Virtuous

**Virtuous**

She's clearing away the breakfast things and sees the gift.

Curious fingers trace the ribbon before she slips it off and opens the box.

Two tear-drop shaped earrings, simple, unadorned. The pigeon's-blood color alone tells their value.

He's heading out the door and she wants to stop him – tell him everything he means to her – everything life together with him means to her but her throat's tight and she can't swallow much less get any words out.

"Thank you," she whispers hoarsely.

He shrugs, his voice both gruff and soft.. "I thought they'd look good with your hair."

_"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10_


	36. Blood

** Blood**

She wasn't born Nara, she married into the clan.

He's tried to teach her the skills, after all they aren't due to kekkai genkai but a secret technique.

She's learned them well enough although she'll never be an expert at the strangle technique.

Kagemane is useful and she has no qualms about using that one for restraining an opponent when necessary.

Kage Kubi Shibari is just … creepy and she finds herself strangely morally opposed to using it.

It seems to her that if you're going to kill someone you at least ought to have the decency to spill their blood.


	37. Breath

**Breath**

Her head is on his chest, rising and falling in time with the rhythm of his breathing.

Grey blue streaks of dawn slit through the window.

She sighs a heavy breath then sits up, poking him in the ribs, "Time to get up, lazybones."

He exhales deeply, followed by a grumble.

"Five more minutes," he mumbles against the pillow.

Another poke in the ribs. "You really need to wake up now." She starts to rise from the bed.  
His hand circles her wrist, pulling her back down to him. His voice is warm and deep, "We can stay…just a little longer."


	38. Understanding

**Understanding**

Problems in the household, a plumber must be called.

After the work is completed Yoshino listens to the awkward explanation the man attempts to give. Heat spreads to her cheeks and the tips of her ears turn pink in understanding.

She greets her husband at the door with arms crossed and toe tapping. He notes she refers to Shikamaru as _his _son not _our_ son.

He sighs.

Fatherhood.

It's not just a job it's an adventure.

Everyone keeps telling him his teenage son is a genius, but sometimes he wonders…

"Son, condoms're waterproof for a reason. You _can't _flush them."


	39. Bonds

**Bonds**

Family ties, clan responsibilities, filial duty, these are all part of his life from early childhood.

Nara.

It's just who he _ is._

But some bonds are just as strong as those within his own family.

There is nothing he would not do for his teammates, no task too dangerous, no mission too difficult. Any cost, any sacrifice he'd be willing to do it for them. He knows they feel the same toward him.

So if they want to go drinking one more night this week, he's happy to oblige.

Even if it means he'll catch hell when he gets home.


	40. Valiant

**Valiant**

She has made a valiant effort. She's done the best she could with what she had to work with.

Yoshino sighs as she watches her son walk off back to town for "guide duty". She recognizes it for what it truly is, he's kowtowing to that girl from Suna's every whim.

It takes a woman twenty years to turn her boy into a man and another woman twenty minutes to turn him into a fool.

She smirks as she looks fondly at her husband lightly dozing on the porch and she wonders if her mother-in-law ever felt that way about her.


	41. Pain

**Pain**

She can think of no greater pain than what her daughter-in-law and her brothers have been through.

True enough that there are a number of orphans in all the shinobi villages simply due to the wars and missions. It's not uncommon for children to grow up without one or both parents.

But to have their mother deliberately _sacrificed_ like that is simply chilling.

Shikaku teases and calls her an old mother hen.

She scoffs right back and asks if there's something _wrong _with that.

She can't help it, it's in her nature.

And her husband wouldn't have it any other way.


	42. Happiness

**Happiness**

"How are you two doing?"

"I dunno, how do I know if she's happy?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, seriously, Dad, how do I know if Temari is really happy?"

"Why ask _me_?"

"Well, sometimes I think it's she's just _not unhappy_."

"So?"

"Logically they should be the same, but…

"Linguistics isn't logic and logic isn't linguistics although there's a lot of overlap."

"_That's_ a lot of help."

"What were you expecting?"

"An answer."

"To what?"

"Women."

"Seriously? You think there's an answer?"

"Yes."

_"Logos_."

"What?"

"_Logos,_ the reason for reason."

"You're joking, right?"

"It's as good as you're going to get."


	43. Weakness

**Weakness**

It's a terribly unfair tactic.

She feels a little guilty.

Nonetheless all's fair in love and war.

She's found that he has one undeniable weakness. From discussions around the women's bath it seems to apply universally to men.

After sex he's remarkably compliant.

It's an interesting state of consciousness, highly susceptible to suggestion.

Of course as a kunoichi she's been taught this. Much successful espionage occurs in the bedroom. The mind of a sated lover is much more willing to give up its secrets.

But it seems… dubious…using it against her husband.

"Shikaku," she whispers. "We need to paint the kitchen."


	44. Horizon

**Horizon**

The unfocused gaze of the newborn is a window into eternity. It would be easy to fall in and get lost.

He looks up at his son hovering nervously near Temari who holds the baby. Shikamaru looks shell-shocked. Temari just seems tired.

Shikaku glances at Yoshino who pronounces for both of them, "She's beautiful Temari-chan."

"Thank you," Temari answers as she stifles back a yawn.

"Come on Yoshino, she's tired, we'll come back later," Shikaku instructs.

Wistfully, she says goodbye. As the door closes behind them she turns to her husband.

"_We _were never that nervous and clueless were we?"


	45. Freedom

**Freedom**

The baby was still fussing. Yoshino and Shikaku had taken turns walking, patting, rocking, to no avail.

Just then the front door opened. The two brightened and said  
"They're home!"

"Hey Mom, Dad. Thanks," Shikamaru yawned, Temari hurried to take her daughter from her mother-in-law. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, she's just a little fussy. Enjoy your movie?"

Shikamaru shrugged and Temari smiled weakly, realizing they were in for a long night.

"Right, well, we'll see you later. Let us know if you need anything."

And they hurried toward the door, sharing a secret smile of relief between the two of them.


	46. Forever

**Forever**

"Dammit!" Shikaku heard his wife's loud declaration and dodged the object hurtling toward him. He retrieved it, noting it was a lid for a food container.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked warily, handing it back to his wife.

"No!" Yoshino answered, snatching the lid out of his hands. "I'm mad at _this."_

"What did that lid do to you?" he asked with a smile.

"We got these when we got married and it's… it's cracked," she answered, pointing to fractures along the edges.

"So?"

"So it's supposed to come with a lifetime warranty," Yoshino sighed, adding, "I feel old."


	47. Hands

**Hands**

A shinobi's hands are interesting tools. Strength and dexterity are necessary in making the hand seals for certain jutsu.

Yoshino reflects on her husband's hands. He is without a doubt one of the most skilled ninja in the village. His hands, both real and shadow, are strong and sure. He can kill an enemy with his bare hands alone or with kagemane or even accurately with more ordinary weapons like kunai or shuriken.

But over the years she's also known how gentle his hands can be – tending the deer, with their son and now grandchildren, and with her.


	48. Dawn

**Dawn **

The windows are open. There's a light breeze coming in and the sky is still dark, the hour is just before sunrise.

It's so early even the birds haven't begun chirping yet.

He knows that if he were out in the forest now, the deer would be about, early-morning creatures that they are.

There's a gentle clatter of dishes from the kitchen and he knows that Yoshino is up, fixing breakfast.

There will be tea and natto and rice.

The deer, it seems, are not the only early-morning creatures on Nara clan lands.

That's nice.


	49. Devotion

**Devotion**

On their wedding day they had vowed to be husband and wife, lifelong companions.

They had set off on their life's journey with their families' warmest congratulations.

Their vows included that they would keep the feelings of love that day alive in their hearts and that they would always regard each other with deep understanding and respect.

But their vows hadn't only been to each other, they had also promised their village they would establish their home working to make their family flourish.

The wedding had been the day they said 'I do.'

The marriage had been the doing.


	50. Death

**Death**

"Dad? Dad. They're waiting. It's time."

Fragrance of incense filled the room, coupled with that of the flowers nearby. The small body clothed in a formal kimono lay outstretched on the bed, hands placidly folded, small kunai in them to ward off evil spirits.

Shikaku reached to touch her hair one last time, strands of black and silver slipping through his fingers.

"I know." Shikaku finally replied. "I'll be there soon."

Shikamaru thought he had never seen his father look so _small._

Turning to leave the room he realized he was not sure to whom his father had been speaking.

The End


End file.
